After discovering Corcoran Woods by accident, I visited the area a couple of times and only for about 20 minutes each. There are two entrances. The first time I entered was on Tydings Road and the second was on Bay Head Road. I only stopped by briefly and was determined to visit again for a long walk. Today was that day.

Before my walk, I made a visit to Sandy Point State Park Headquarters to get some pointers regarding my visit. The very helpful staff gave me a handful of information, which included a map and other print-outs (again, see home page) and directions on where to park. From this little Corcoran parking lot, you can enter the fenced area or you may head east to bike or walk into Sandy Point.

I parked in the lot on Tydings Road, which you get to by turning onto Log Inn Road, which is the last road before Sandy Point State Park off the “Access Road” along Route 50. See the home page for more details and remember to bring your rubber boots!

The gate at the entrance is left slightly open with chain and lock so only foot traffic is able to pass through. This huge plot of fenced land, over 200 acres, only has the two entrances, but as you walk along the fence line, you see crushed fencing which serves as entry/exit points for people and wildlife.

Forewarned is forearmed

On the map, there is a Nature Trail and various Fire Roads drawn out. After entering the area, finding the Nature Trail was first on my agenda. There are numbered spots on the map which correspond with the numbers shown on the print-out I was given (document by the Native Tree Society). No luck. There were no markings or paths in the woods that I could see to get started, just the Fire Roads. I decided to start my maiden voyage by walking the Fire Road along the fence perimeter, all around the entire area. It took me an hour and 45 minutes. It was a long walk of many miles.

This was a fantastic experience – and I knew from my previous little visits to wear my Muck Boots, which are normally used by me for hunting or the snow. This was extremely important. You cannot enjoy the walk, as you will see from my photos, without rubber boots of some kind, and they better be warm boots in December. I have not walked this in the spring or summer yet, of course, but I can imagine it is not any less saturated with ankle deep water, especially with spring rains. Large parts of the Fire Roads were flooded, maybe 20%, and often there is no avoiding it. As you will see in the photos, there were many interesting details and a lot of conservation work. Large swaths of bamboo were removed plus hundreds of new trees planted in special plastic sleeves, which must have been a great deal of work for state staff and volunteers. I was able to follow many of the numbers on the map with the print-out of the Native Tree Society.  I now know a lot more about the various points of interest, thanks to the thoughtful staff at Sandy Point State Park.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so please continue on and have a look at my photos from the day. There was a lot to see – including deer on both sides of the fence, some of them moving too fast for me to take a photo.